What is the Dashboard?

The Dashboard runs different tools or applications that enable you to navigate complex design problems. These applications can be used singly or in combination. By interacting with the Dashboard and running the different applications (three included with this entry level model), projects transform and new possibilities present themselves.

What does it do?

The Dashboard maps design space and then lets you choose a path. Specifically you can use it to classify, revise and generate designs.

What applications does it have?

The Dashboard currently has three applications: the Involvement Slider, the Forms and the Design Intentions. The Slider provides options for the how client and designer can work together, basically setting the design process. The Forms enable you to decide what to produce and the Intention lets you decide where your design will have impact.

Where can I learn more?

Please download the User Guide. This explains all the Dashboard’s functions in detail and explore some of its implications. It’s actually a fun read.

Is there really a device?

The Dashboard exists in multiple forms. There’s a clickable interactive version available on the website, an analog version and paper worksheets. But no, there’s not yet a handheld device with a touch screen as shown in some of the pictures. Sorry, we just thought that it looked cool.

Who should use it?

The Dashboard requires no specialized knowledge and is suitable for all ages. It is however a tool for designers (though everyone is a designer now).

Where did the idea come from?

The Design Dashboard was created at the Institute Without Boundaries in 2008. It was used to navigate a multifaceted project commissioned by the Government of Costa Rica. Asked to create models for the development of sustainable communities in the province of Guanacaste, the Dashboard provided a framework to address multiple clients and different levels of interaction, while demonstrating sensitivity to local cultures and communities.

Where can I buy a Dashboard?

The Dashboard is a beta version that is being released to the design community for comment and testing. In the future, you may be able to purchase a Dashboard from the Institute Without Boundaries. In the meantime, please play with the demo on the website or use the STL code that we’re giving away to build your own prototype on a 3D printer. You can also download and print off the PDF worksheets.